Business can be a dreary drudgery sometimes. The best remedy is light-heartedness and not taking yourself so seriously! As our habit for this week, I have a bonus treat for you that will help you have more fun and less stress. Usually I give you a written article in case you are a reader rather than a video watcher. But today, it’s video only because it’s an interactive session that will make you feel great as you play along. Watch it here and look below for more information if you want to know more about this practice.

I heard that the native peoples of Central America did not see the Spaniards coming way back in 1492. They had never seen anything like the ships that Christopher Columbus and his crew arrived on, so they could not recognize them or accept them. Many of us mission-driven entrepreneurs are like those natives. Our experience and worldview often does not include abundance, plenty, and profit for ourselves. We’ve often been the outliers, the folks who are a little weird, wired a little differently.

As we in the United States celebrate our independence on July 4th, I pause to appreciate all the freedoms we enjoy in this country: freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom to pursue our version of happiness to name a few. Compared to many other women throughout the world, we have so much to give thanks for in the freedoms with which we lead our daily lives and pursue our dreams. Yet, I've noticed that many women in business rarely feel free to experience joy and feel fulfilled. We put ourselves last on our To Do List, if we are there at all, and we give much of our time, energy, and talent to others without asking for anything in return.